"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.

Archive for September 7, 2019

The Legends of Dinka: A double orphan who rose from the ashes of poverty

By Kur Wël Kur, Adelaide,
Australia

Aesop’s Fables in Dinka, translated by Atem Yaak Atem

Saturday, September 7, 2019 (PW) — In a century, 10 years shy ago, a widow, the
mother of four sons, suffered from a crippling sickness. She wallowed in a
rheumatism, and she couldn’t care for her four sons. Her sons were 12, 10, 8 years
and 6-months old. For several years, the degenerative disease deteriorated her
health to the point that she couldn’t move by herself.

Her eldest
son would help her move. A lot of her duties such as pounding and milling
sorghum grains, farming and weeding, tidying and maintaining her homestead were
passed on to her next two sons automatically. The two sons who were 10 and 8
years old were overwhelmed by the duties. So, some duties slipped out of their
responsibilities. Their family’s hut in which their mother was immobilised on
her sickbed was caving in. Her older son would prop up the falling side with
logs.